Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-03-25
Written and compiled for the HERALD.
WASHINGTON, March 81, ISL.

the usual concourse ofpeOple in the
East Room at one o'clock. In the
evening he went to the theatre un-
accompanied by Mrs. Cleveland,
who is in mourning now for her
grandmother.
The habit of duplicating pay ac-
counts by army officers has receiN-
ed a fresh impulse and is becoming
epidemic. The latest accession to
the ranks of military financial
crooks is Lieut.. Wilcox, 9TH caval.
~, who was arrested in ST. Louis,
and sent to Fort Smelling to be
court This makes FIVE
army officers who have gone wrong
within the past year. All these
cases occurred west of the Missis-
sippi. The practical desertion of
five officers makes even a worse
showing than the annual desertion
of s per cent. Of the enlisted men
of the army, for the latter are com
PEELED to serve the first six months
without paw.
The bringing of a country lawyer
from Wisconsin to be chief clerk
Of the Post Office Department illus
trates the civil service reform farce
as it is now played. If the com
petitive examination system is
worth anything, its fruits must be
the development from within the
departments of the best men for
chief cler kships and other places
where the most perfect knowledge
of the business of the bureaux is
required. An officer brought in
from outside the department is nee.
essarily for long time mere fig
ure head, who is compelled to de-
pend upon the skill, experience and
fidelity Of his subordinates.
In the notable educatiOnal-con-
vention held here during the past
week, which was attended by the
superintendent and many teachers
from all parts of the country, one
of the prominent educators said, in
the study of the question of civil
service reform he had been struck
with its application to the public
school system. The spoils system,
of which so much was said in poll
tics, had made its appearance in the
schools Places on the boards of
education were sought for the
money in them. II it were the pur-
chase OF a site, the selection Of a
plan, or the giving Of a contract, it
was not the most suitable site, or
the best plan or the most adyan-
tsgeous contract that controlled the
selection, but the per cent. the
members of the board were to get
from the transaction.
Washington is to have a new in
stitution, namely a bureau Of in
formation, which will make it a
business, for a moderate fee, to an
swer all questions that may be
sent to it-llterary, scientific, de.
partmental, political, etc. On this
its people are to be congratulated,
as we'll as members of Congress-
The latter justly complain that their
time is continually taken up IN look
ing after trifling matters for their
constituents, and citizens are con.
stantly applied 20 by acquaintance
in different parts of the country for
information obtainable here. Such
a bureau here could perform a great
and useful service TO the people
throughout the country, for the Ma
tiOnal Capital possesses unequaled
sources of knowledge.
This reminds me of the sorrows
of a United States consul at one
OF the South American ports, who
has been pouring out his heart by
letter to a friend in this city. In
the first place he said he was not
allowed to keep a clerk, yet almost
every mail brought letters without
stamps for return POSTAGE asking
for information. There were let
tiers wanting to know about that
country and letters from naval Of
icers requesting different commits
sions. A merchant writes to get
the commercial standing Of various
parties, aud others write for com
plete list of the business houses II
Brazil. One man writes to inquire
as to the will ofsOme one who might
have died in the Argentine Repub-
lie or Uruguay about the year 1870,
although it might have been earlier
or later than that.
The poor man thinks the consuPs
life is anything but a happy one
and says he will be obliged to TO
sign soon unless the Government
does something for his relief. lie
says he tries to answer each com
munication to the best Of his abili.
~. If his answers please, he gets
no thanks. If they do not he gets
abuse and threats for not attending
to the writer's business.
o-r - ns.s-f